2/29/2016

Regarding Trump, the Media Has a Fundamental Misunderstanding of How Stupid Americans Really Are

On his show Last Week Tonight, host John Oliver finally did something that lives up to the Buzzfeed-type headlines of "destroyed" or "obliterated." Those words are usually applied to some mild criticism levied at a public figure or issue by some comedian and are almost always entirely inaccurate. However, last night, Oliver really, truly reamed Donald Trump, savagely ripping apart every myth about him like a horny rhino rampage fucking everything on the plain. It was angry and cathartic, with Oliver not just dropping the mic after he was done but tossing it over his shoulder like he was throwing out the trash. The Rude Pundit orgasmed multiple times and so will you.

It should be one of several things this weekend that, at long last, bring to an end to the abject monstrosity that is the Trump campaign for the Republican nomination for President. Seriously, what the fuck else can happen? Earlier on Sunday, Trump refused to condemn a white supremacist (who he later disavowed in the most dickish, dismissive way possible after pressure), as if one should have any answer than "Hell, yes" when asked, "Do you hate the KKK?" How could his unbelievably crass and borderline violent campaign not be over?

Except it won't. It won't even put a dent in his support, which is now approaching 50% of GOP voters. It's not like those voters didn't think Trump was a racist before. It's not like they care what anyone but Trump says about Trump's wealth or his honesty or his past beliefs. No, something else is happening.

The Rude Pundit wants to posit something here about the American people, not in the psychobabble of David Brooks on a behavioral therapy bender. Think of this as a sequel to last week's plea to voters on Trump. It's very simple, actually: A lot of the American people are stupid. And no matter how much you try to tell them that something is ethically awful, morally corrupt, or just plain bad for you, stupid people don't fucking care because they are stupid.

Sometimes, stupid works in your favor. Stupid people like to be part of crowds of other stupid people. It goes for movies, music, TV shows, and elections, among most everything in life. And if you happen to support the same candidate as the stupid people, then all blessings of success come your way. In other words, if you're popular, people want to jump on the popularity train. Back in 2008, everyone knew people who were just voting for Obama because they "liked" him, not because they understood a goddamn thing about his campaign proposals. There was no reason to question anyone's motives if they're on your side. Who cares why your candidate wins, just as long as he or she does win?

In a conversation on Friday, the Rude Pundit's Doorman pal said he was stunned at how popular Trump had become. The Rude Pundit replied, "Why do people still watch Adam Sandler movies? If he shit out Grown-Ups 3, it'd be a hit." He went on to talk about how Adam Sandler's career explains the reason why Donald Trump is going to be the Republican nominee. Sure, Sandler's had some box office duds, but that hasn't dimmed the brand of "Adam Sandler." In fact, his wretched shitpile of a film, The Ridiculous 6, is the most-watched movie ever on Netflix. It's not that Ridiculous 6 is any better than Pixels (or so this blogger hears); however, the latter film requires a price of admission while the former is, more or less, free.

So is voting. And if you're someone who always thought that "Trump" represented some essential marker of success that you could never be a part of, well, maybe by supporting and voting for Donald Trump, you can have that piece of "Trump" that you always wanted. That's something that goes beyond politics and into what we might call "transcendent." Why play the lottery? Because you think you might win. Why believe in God? Because you're betting on getting into heaven after death. Once faith enters the equation, you can no longer make a rational argument against it. You are now dealing with stupid people (and we are all stupid at different times in our lives).

The major media outlets appear to believe that they can dig something up to turn the Trump train around. That is a fundamental misunderstanding of the unbelievable stupidity of Americans. If they media learns that, if they learn that things like "reason" and "logic" don't matter one bit, then someone might be able to figure out the contortionist jujitsu required to defeat Trump.

Or don't. At the end of the day, the Rude Pundit doesn't care much. The Republican Party is ripping itself to shreds at last. Trump ain't gonna beat Hillary. Surely, we're not that stupid. Right?